Steven Mnuchin Demands Independent Probe of Akinwumi Adesina
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin rejected plans by the
African Development Bank’s board to end an investigation into its president,
Akinwumi Adesina, and called for an independent probe into allegations against
him.
In a letter dated May 22 and addressed to Niale Kaba,
chairwoman of the bank’s board of governors, Mnuchin said the Treasury
disagrees with findings by the bank’s ethics committee that “totally
exonerated” Adesina. Kaba confirmed receipt of the document and declined
further comment.
The intervention by the Treasury, the AfDB’s biggest
non-African shareholder, comes two weeks after the ethics committee found no
evidence to support allegations of favoritism by Adesina. The 60-year-old bank
chief, who has repeatedly refuted the allegations, is the only candidate up for
election as president at an annual general meeting scheduled for August.
“We have deep reservations about the integrity of the
committee’s process,” Mnuchin said. “Instead, we urge you to initiate an
in-depth investigation of the allegations using the services of an independent
outside investigator of high professional standing.”
The U.S. Treasury didn’t immediately respond to an emailed
request for comment.
Clear Mandate
Adesina was accused by a group of unidentified
whistleblowers of handing contracts to acquaintances and appointing relatives
to strategic positions at the Abidjan-based lender.
“Considering the scope, seriousness, and detail of these
allegations against the sole candidate for bank leadership over the next five
years, we believe that further inquiry is necessary to ensure that the AfDB’s
president has broad support, confidence, and a clear mandate from
shareholders,” Mnuchin said.
The U.S. has a 6.5% stake in the lender, the largest
shareholding after Adesina’s home country of Nigeria as of November 2019,
according to the AfDB’s website.
U.S. criticism of the bank’s internal processes follows
comments by World Bank President David Malpass in February that multilateral
lenders including the AfDB tend to provide loans too quickly, and, in the
process, add to African nations’ debt problems. The bank rebutted the
statements as “inaccurate and not fact-based.”
The AfDB is Africa’s biggest multilateral lender and has an
AAA rating from Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global
Ratings. Its shareholders are Africa’s 54 nations and 27 countries in the
Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia.
In March, the lender issued a $3 billion social bond to help
African countries deal with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Bids for
the securities on the London money market exceeded $4.6 billion. The bank also
launched a $10 billion crisis-response facility for African nations.
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